France develops a taste for British cheddar

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/dec/23/france-cheddar-cheese-sales-boom

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"They do take a lot of convincing," admitted Marie Quatrehomme, an award-winning Parisian cheesemonger, "but once they do, they're very happy with it."' The problem, she said from her illustrious Left Bank cheese shop, Quatrehomme, is that "cheddar is well-liked by the French once they try it, but at the same time it's very little known."

Slowly, though, the French palate – spoiled after being weaned on the ripest brie and most sumptuous camembert – is coming round to the idea of British cheddar. "Its appeal in France lies in its wonderful shape and texture and in the fact that it is very close in appearance to the French cheese cantal and yet has a totally different taste," says Quatrehomme. "We stock cheddar all year, but I've just taken a large order for Christmas and I'm really proud to offer my customers two of the best varieties."

But the rise of cheddar is arguably best exemplified by the success of Cathedral City, made by Dairy Crest and recently voted one of Britain's favourite brands, which entered the French market five years ago and now sells about a quarter of a million packets every year. Sales in France are up steadily 5% year on year.

Another British brand, Wyke Farms from Somerset, the UK's largest independent cheese producer and milk processor, is now stocked in Intermarché, Monoprix and other big French supermarkets.

British cheese generally has never been as popular abroad, according to Nigel White, secretary of the British Cheese Board, an education body funded by British cheesemakers. "120,000 tonnes of British cheese was exported last year across the world – more than double the amount 10 years ago," he said.

Before then, British cheeses were too mild for continental tastes, said White. "Until 1990, about 60% of cheddars made in Britain were mild. Now, two-thirds are mature, which appeal more to countries used to stronger cheeses. I think historically we used to send out cheese to the rest of the world that was too young. There was nothing wrong with it, but it didn't have a very strong flavour."

Stilton has long found foreign favour, and now more than 1,000 tonnes are produced for the export market each year, said White. But these days, that once respectable variety has been dwarfed by cheddar exports, which have reached 35,000 tonnes a year.

The French were always nationalistic about their cheese, said White, reluctant to eat anything made beyond their borders. But they are now getting a taste for artisan cheddars – particularly West Country farmhouse cheddar, a protected product that by law has to be made by hand in south-west England.

Until seven or eight years ago, Cathedral City's foreign market comprised homesick expats who would get their cheddar fix from English food shops, said Jackie Wilson, the brand's marketing manager. Now, though, the company has its sights on expanding the foreign business, which has grown by 10-15% year on year.

France isn't the only country falling for Cathedral City. The international sales manager, Gavin Cartland, said: "Our biggest markets outside the UK (where retail sales are worth £253m this year) are Germany, France, Spain, Switzerland, Benelux and Scandinavia." Total European retail sales were €8m (£6.49m) this year. Germany is the biggest market. In 2010, no other cheese brand grew as fast over there, with volume increasing 40% year on year.

Cartland and his team tailor their marketing for different foreign tastes. "The Swiss tend to like eating cheddar for breakfast, Germans tend to use it like us, in sandwiches, on potatoes and everywhere else. The Spanish use it as a cooking ingredient, particularly with pasta or seafood."

Cathedral City's appeal – to foreigners and Britons alike – is partly based on its packets being emblazoned with an olde-worlde church, and customers probably imagine the cheese is churned by godfearing monks in a monastery in some ancient English town. In fact, it is made on an industrial scale in Davidstow, Cornwall, which does not have a cathedral and is not a city.

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